Home invasion, burglaries investigated in St. Croix County

St. Croix County authorities continued searching for two men suspected in an August home invasion at an elderly woman's home.

Sheriff Scott Knudson said the woman wasn't physically injured in the Aug. 15 incident near Houlton, but belongings were stolen. He said Thursday, Aug. 30, the suspects remained at large.

Investigators got information that the incident might not have been random, Knudson said.
"However, there's always the suggestion that people lock their doors and windows," he said, adding that police should be called if suspicious activity is observed.

Knudson said the home invasion occurred between 1-2 a.m. at a County Road E home outside Houlton, though he declined to divulge the actual address due to the ongoing investigation. The woman was threatened during the incident, Knudson said, and was placed in the home's shower while the thieves went through her belongings.

The two men observed during the incident had their faces concealed, the sheriff said.

The incident was followed by a social media alert by Hudson police warning residents about burglaries and home invasions occurring in the St. Croix County area, as well as in Minnesota's neighboring Washington County.

"People are entering homes and stealing wallets, cars, valuables," the post reads. "People have been gone or at home and suspects still enter. LOCK your home whether you are home or not, day or night."

Two subsequent incidents were reported in Hudson after that alert went out.

The first incident was reported Aug. 17 at a home in the 1800 block of River Ridge Road, where a resident called police after a home alarm went off. A man was seen leaving the house in a vehicle with Florida license plates after being witnessed attempting to break into a car parked there. Police inspected the house and found evidence that a suspect had been walking near entrances to the house.

The second incident was reported Aug. 18 at a home in the 1300 block of Fourth Street, where a woman reported someone took items from a deck table and opened a window to the home overnight.